Tag Archives: Pinterest

She was a pushy dame with an appetite for the limelight…

SpillaneAs a freelancer, I wear two hats: one as a writer, the other as a publication layout artist. The season for my publication layout work runs from August through February, which leaves about five months of unscheduled time to pursue my own projects. Some years I get assigned to write a book, others I go scrounging for piece-work. Last year, I had neither to fill the gap, so I set several of my own ideas in motion: a series of Kindle cookbooks, a line of spice blends, an apron design, a collection of short stories, and a self-published children’s book that had been shelved and forgotten for nearly twenty years.

In the spring and summer of 2012, I managed to lay the foundations, to begin production on all of these projects, and to design a website for each one. But that’s as far as I was able to progress before it was time for the publication layout season to begin again. And now that I’m finished with this year’s edition, I’m once again presented with another five months of unscheduled time to pick up where I left off last August.

The first thing I realized is that I now have to find the most effective way to market what I’ve created. And I know I’m not alone when I say that marketing has never been my forte. I’m sure there are lots of ‘creatives’ out there who would much rather spend their time writing a novel, creating a work of art, composing a song, or in my case…developing a new recipe and photographing the finished dish!

But market I must.

On my very first day of freelancing freedom, while pondering the possibilities for introducing my creations to the world, as if manna from heaven, I happened upon a quote from steamy, noir detective novelist Mickey Spillane, who said: “Wherever I go everybody knows me, but here’s why … I’m a merchandiser, I’m not just a writer. I stay in every avenue you can think of.”

His career spanned more than sixty years, from his early stories in DC Comics and the publication of his first novel, I, the Jury, in 1947, to his death in 2006. He appeared in every medium, from comic books, magazines, and pulp fiction, to movies and television. Several of his novels have been published posthumously, and he now has a presence on the Internet that yields more than 700,000 search results.

Mickey Spillane’s words lit a fuse that sparked fireworks in my imagination, and over the course of a single week, I have explored the promotion of my products via Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Vimeo, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Amazon, eBay, Goodreads, Twitter, Google, and Groupon, not to mention the thousands of bloggers who write about the very things that I’ve created. Suddenly there aren’t enough hours in a day, a week, or even five months to pursue them all…but I’m gonna give it my best shot.

 

CelesteHeiterFZBioCeleste Heiter is the author of Turn Your PC into a Lean Mean Freelancing Machine, the creator of the LoveBites Cookbook Series for Kindle Fire, and the author of Potty Pals , a potty-training book for children. She has also written ten books published by ThingsAsian Press; and spent eight years posting her recipes, food photographs, and film reviews on ChopstickCinema .

Visit her website, and her Amazon Author Page.

 

Pinteresting Thoughts for Freelancers

I drank the Pinterest Kool-Aid and now I find myself spending ridiculous amounts of time on Pinterest. However, I feel fully justified in pinterestimageusing this under the ruse of  “doing work.”

What is Pinterest?

In short, it is a virtual bulletin board. In long, it is a virtual search engine, with direct links, that allows for real time trending and visual branding. The site has 16m users per month and is now #3 in terms of social media platforms, behind Facebook and Twitter, and it ranks highest in buyer trust (in social media platforms) with women.

What’s this got to do with me?

1. Research – Whatever you’re writing about this week, you can find educational resources, info-graphs and videos about said topic on Pinterest. While this search engine may be visual, the links are improving in quality and you can find great images that link to even better learning resources.

2. Thought Leaders – You can follow and re-pin images from thought leaders in whatever industry you are writing about. With so many companies and business owners on Pinterest right now, you’re bound to locate more than one individual who is posting some interesting trends, info or images about your topic.

3. Inspiration – When you’re stuck for ideas and just want to find some amazing visual inspiration, you can dial back your logical side and let the creativity and visual stimulation flow.  Where do you think I got the idea for this blog post?

Need an invite to get into Pinterest? I’m happy to help! Leave me a comment and I’ll send you one.

Amanda Smyth Connor is a social media strategist for a one of the biggest publishing companies in the country and has managed online communities and content development for many start-up and Fortune 500 companies.  She has been a professional editor for more years than she can remember.